Category: Andy’s Adventures

Sam is my neighborhood friend. He lives at the far end of my block. Sam is a year ahead of me in school but we really have good times together. Sam has missed a whole week of school. This worries me. I asked Dad if he knew where Sam might be. He said I should walk over to his house and ask about him. Good friends care for each other.

I normally ride my bike everywhere but my bike has a flat tire. I asked Andy to go with me so I would have so company as I walked to Sam’s house. Andy was glad to get out of my yard and jumped on my shoe. I told him I was worried about Sam. Andy listened and asked a few questions. As we got to Sam’s house I saw his Mom pull in the driveway. I asked her where Sam was and if he was OK. Her answer was shocking. I actually felt sick!

She told me Sam became very sick last Monday. He got so bad that Dr. Jones admitted him to the hospital. This is serious! He has been there six days and no one can figure out what’s wrong with Sam. Whatever it is, it is really serious. I asked if my Dad could take me to see him. The answer was simply, “Not now. He is too sick to see anyone.”

Finish this story by using the following question:

What do you think Andy’s advice is to Joey about Sam?

What do you think Joey can do?

What would you do if you had a close friend that ended up in the hospital?

What do you think Joey and Andy will do when they get back to Joey’s house?

Before Joey’s dad left for work, he reminded Joey to be sure and pull all the weeds in the flowerbed along the driveway and right next to Mr. Davis’s house. Dad promised Joey that if he did a good job pulling the weeds, they’d go watch the local baseball team’s game at the big city ball field that evening.

This job was going to take a couple of hours in the hot sun. To help make the time go faster, Joey decided to ask Andy to help him in the flowerbed. After all, ants know what goes on under the ground. Many of the underground ant trails pass right by the weed roots. At least he would have someone to talk to while he pulled the weeds.

Andy liked weeds because they gave his family extra shade on the hot summer days, but he agreed to spend a few hours with Joey to keep him company—and Joey promised to take Andy to the baseball game later that evening if he would help. As Joey worked, Andy found other neighborhood ant friends in the flowerbed and introduced them to Joey. That morning Joey also met Barney Bee, Sam Snail, and William Worm. It seemed everyone was having a great time in the flowerbed that morning.

But then Joey’s older brother, Dwayne, came out of the garage. He had an insect sprayer with him. He told Joey that Mom wanted him to spray the flowerbeds and rose bushes to get rid of those pesky ants and then spread snail bate throughout the flowers to get rid of the snails.

What do you think Joey said to Dwayne?

How do you think Dwayne responded to Joey?

Did the ants and other neighborhood friends have time to get away before the spraying began?

Andy’s best ant friend is a school classmate named Dickter. Dickter is a bit shy and lives in the poorer section of town. Dicker has a disability. You see, when he talks, he stutters. When he gets nervous, his stuttering gets even worse. Too often other ant friends in school laugh at him when he has trouble speaking. Andy knows Dickter is very smart and is a loyal friend. Andy wants to help Dicker by being a good friend to him.

One day Andy decides that Joey needs to meet his best ant friend. He proudly introduces Dickter to Joey. Dickter just smiles and doesn’t say a word. When Dickter eventually starts to speak, he stutters and Joey laughs at him. This embarrasses Dickter, and Dickter decides he has had it and announces to Andy that he is going to run away. Andy decides to go with him so he doesn’t get lost and has a friend with him. They skip school and take off for the unknown.

Joey is in class all day and has no idea that Andy and Dicker have run away. Only at the end of the day, when Andy never returns home, does everyone know they’re gone. To find out what happens that painful day, you will have to get and read Run Away Ants in late 2014.

What is a disability?

Do you or a friend have a disability?

How to you think kids with disabilities feel when other kids ignore or laugh at them?

What can you do to help a friend with a disability?

It’s your turn to make up the ending of this story—at least until you can get the book and find out what happens.

Who is your best friend? Andy’s best friend is a boy named Joey. I know, it sounds a bit strange. It’s not too common for a fourth grade ant and a fourth grade boy to be best friends.

Andy and his family live in an underground condo that is under the front steps of Joey and his family’s home. Since they live so close to one another, almost every day Andy and Joey end up having an unexpected adventure together.

On the first day that they met each other, a lawn mower on the loose almost mowed down the Grand Ant soccer team. You need to get the Lawn Mower on the Loose book to find out how they met and what happened to the soccer team that day (your mom or dad can buy this adventure by clicking on the title and ordering you a copy today).

What started as fun bedtime stories in 1975 for my daughter when she was almost three years old has resulted in a series of wonderful children’s books.

One night as I was telling my daughter a story just before she was to go to sleep, I started with a familiar beginning: “Once upon a time, there was an ant…” My daughter interrupted me with a question: “Daddy, what was his name?” I thought to myself for a moment, “What rhymes with ant?” The next word I said was, “Andy.” That was all she needed. (more…)